Born to Fight

Chapter 8

Celeste

By the time we got back to the house, the rain had soaked through everything I was wearing.

I let Loki inside from the backyard, where he’d been spending time with Freeze, then slowly made my way upstairs.

I changed out of my funeral clothes and pulled on black yoga pants, a dark green cashmere sweater, and thick woollen socks before climbing onto my bed.

Loki jumped up beside me almost immediately.

For a while, I simply lay there with one hand resting against his fur, listening to the rain hammering against the windows.

I should have been thinking about my mother.

About the funeral.

About the fact that I had stood beside her grave and watched them lower her into the ground.

Instead, my mind kept circling back to the same thing.

The man by the tree.

I couldn’t explain it.

There had been nothing particularly threatening about him. At least, not that I could put into words.

He hadn’t approached me.

He hadn’t spoken to anyone.

He hadn’t done anything.

And yet…

Something about him had felt wrong.

Out of place.

Like he wasn’t there to mourn my mother.

Like he was there to watch.

I closed my eyes and tried to push the thought away.

It didn’t work.

The harder I tried not to think about him, the more vivid the memory became.

The dark clothes.

The black hair.

The way he’d been standing apart from everyone else.

And then the moment he’d looked directly at me.

My eyes snapped open.

Why had he hidden behind the tree?

I sat up, rubbing my temples.

This was ridiculous.

I was exhausted, grieving, and probably looking for danger where there wasn’t any.

Maybe the man had simply been someone who knew my mother.

Maybe he’d been a colleague who didn’t want to intrude.

Maybe he’d had nothing to do with me at all.

But my instincts wouldn’t let it go.

And my instincts had kept me alive once already.

I didn’t know how long I’d been lying there when a knock sounded at my door.

Loki lifted his head.

“It’s me,” Jamie called from the other side.

“Come in.”

The door opened, and Jamie stepped inside.

I glanced toward the window.

It was almost dark.

The rain had intensified, pounding against the glass as thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance.

The storm they’d predicted was finally arriving.

Jamie looked at me for a moment before his eyes settled on Loki.

Loki’s tail thumped softly against the mattress.

Then Jamie looked back at me.

“How are you holding up?”

“I’m okay.”

The answer came automatically.

Too automatically.

I shrugged as though I hadn’t just buried my mother.

As though today had been any other day.

Jamie didn’t buy it.

He crossed the room and sat on the edge of my bed.

“Celeste.”

I looked at him.

“If something’s wrong, you know you can talk to me, right?”

Something tightened in my chest.

I didn’t want him worrying about me.

I already knew he worried too much.

And the last thing I wanted was for him to start thinking of me as another responsibility he had to carry.

But clearly, I wasn’t fooling him.

So I took a breath.

“There was a man at the funeral.”

Jamie’s expression changed almost imperceptibly.

“What man?”

“I don’t know.”

“Tell me.”

I swallowed.

“He was standing near a tree behind where we were gathered for the service. He was alone.”

Jamie leaned forward slightly.

“What was he doing?”

“Watching.”

The word came out quieter than I’d intended.

“Watching you?”

“I think so.”

Jamie’s entire posture changed.

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

I pushed myself upright, frustration creeping into my voice.

“That’s the problem. I can’t explain it. He just seemed… wrong.”

Jamie didn’t interrupt.

“He wasn’t dressed like everyone else,” I continued. “He was wearing black cargo pants and a black turtleneck. Tall. Black hair.”

“Face?”

“I couldn’t see it properly.”

Jamie’s jaw tightened.

“How far away was he?”

“Far enough that I couldn’t make out his features.”

I hated admitting that.

“I saw him looking at me, though. I’m sure of it.”

“And then?”

“He disappeared.”

“Disappeared how?”

I shook my head.

“He stepped behind a tree. I went looking for him, but he was gone.”

Jamie stared at me.

For several seconds, he said nothing.

Then something shifted in his expression.

It wasn’t concern anymore.

It was recognition.

My stomach dropped.

“What?”

“Nothing.”

“Jamie.”

He stood.

“I need to talk to Josh.”

My heart immediately started pounding.

“No.”

He stopped.

“Please don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Shut me out.”

His expression softened.

“Celeste—”

“If you know something, tell me.”

“I don’t know anything yet.”

“But you just changed.”

He looked away for a fraction of a second.

That tiny movement told me more than his words did.

“You know something,” I whispered.

“I said I don’t know anything yet.”

“Then why do you need to talk to Josh?”

“Because I want to make sure we’re not missing something.”

“Something about the man?”

Jamie hesitated.

That was enough.

“Please.”

I swung my legs over the side of the bed.

“Don’t leave me sitting here wondering what the hell is going on.”

He came back toward me.

“Celeste, I need you to trust me.”

“I do trust you.”

“Then trust me now.”

I stared at him.

Part of me wanted to believe him.

Another part was screaming that something had just changed.

Something I wasn’t being told.

Jamie gave me one last look before heading toward the door.

“I’ll be back.”

Then he walked out.

The door clicked shut behind him.

I sat there for several seconds, staring at it.

Trust him.

Those words echoed in my head.

I wanted to.

I really did.

But my mother had trusted people too.

And now she was dead.

I looked down at Loki.

He was already watching the door.

“Come on,” I whispered.

I climbed off the bed and crossed the room.

Instead of opening the door immediately, I pressed my ear against it.

Nothing.

No footsteps.

No voices.

I waited.

Still nothing.

Slowly, I opened the door and looked into the hallway.

Empty.

Loki slipped through beside me.

I glanced toward the stairs.

My heart was pounding harder now.

I knew I shouldn’t do this.

I knew Jamie had asked me to trust him.

But if there was something happening—something connected to the man at the funeral—I needed to know.

Quietly, I moved toward the staircase.

Loki followed without making a sound.

I reached the railing and looked down.

Nothing.

No movement.

No Jamie.

No Josh.

I started down the stairs, placing each foot carefully so the steps wouldn’t creak.

Halfway down, I stopped.

Voices.

Coming from the kitchen.

I froze.

Loki stood beside me, his ears pricked forward.

I knew I should turn around.

I knew listening in was wrong.

But then I heard Jamie’s voice.

And something in his tone made the hairs on the back of my neck rise.

I lowered myself onto the step.

Loki sat beside me.

And I listened.

Because whatever Jamie and Josh were about to say…

I had a feeling it had something to do with the man at my mother’s funeral.

And this time, I wasn’t going to let them keep me in the dark.